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Would you pay cash to cache?

I recently found a place that has trails available in the summer and winter for hiking, skiing and snowshoeing as well as cabins and such for camping. I noticed that they offered geocaching on the trails and you could get a patch for completing all the caches. I checked gc.com and found that the caches were not listed so I contacted the manager. He said it was more of a treasure hunt type of things but was interested in what I was saying. He indicated that they suggest a $5 donation when using the trails and thought that would drive people away. I thought about it for a bit and decided to pose the question here. Would you or have you paid to get admission to a place to go geocaching? Would it result in better caches do to the probability of less muggle activity or issues?

There are two sides to this question.
Would you pay to find caches?
Would you pay to find caches not listed on Geocaching.com?

We've paid to access areas before in order to locate a gc.com cache, so if these caches were gc.com caches and appeared to be interesting I would donate to do the caches.

If it were not listed on gc.com, I might still do them if I was fairly sure they were decent. I like to be able to have a record of my adventures.

If they were asking for a donation, it probably would drive a few away. But placing a cache isn't about getting every cacher to come log it. It's about giving a memorable experience to the cachers that do come to find it.

Think about the hider...

I can see responses in two directions on this one. There are going to be those that wouldnt do them, not because you have to pay to do them, but because they don't care to do caches that aren't on GC.com and they dont get credit for them. This isn't right or wrong, its just the way they play the game, and if they arent listed by Groundspeak, technically, they aren't part of the game.
By all means, if I was using the land, I'd be fine paying for an activity like caching with family. I'm assuming the land is private property, so someone has to maintain the property (trails, cabins, caches, any bathroom facilities)someone has to be paid to make the patches for completion, and quite possibly, someone had to pay to establish a collection of GPSr's, why would $5 be a big deal? No, they may not be on GC.com but who cares? If you didnt have a GPSr or didnt plan on caching during the trip (rare case im sure) and wanted to try it, what better way to see if its something you like?

Last edited by masterson of the universe; 04-06-2011 at 01:39 PM.
Reason: typo

There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and ‘mental illness'. ---Dave Barry

You may have to check with the particulars that listing these caches o gc.com will not be considered a commercial cache.

Solicitation and Commercial Content
Geocaches do not solicit for any purpose. Geocaches perceived to be posted for religious, political, charitable or social agendas are not permitted. Geocaching is intended to be a light and enjoyable family-friendly hobby, not a platform for an agenda.
Commercial caches are disallowed. As a general rule, reviewers will not publish cache pages that seem commercial. A commercial cache has one or more of the following characteristics:
It requires the finder to go inside a business, interact with employees and/or purchase a product or service.
It has overtones of advertising, marketing or promotion.
It contains links to businesses, commercial advertisers, charities, political agendas or social agendas.
It contains the logo of a business or organization, including non-profit organizations.
The name of a business or commercial product is on the cache page.
On very rare occasions, Groundspeak makes an exception for a commercial cache. Arrangements are made before placement. If your cache is commercial in any way, please contact Groundspeak for clarification about how to comply with cache listing guidelines.

I think we all pay to cache. Yes, I have paid to enter state parks but what about the gas to get there and to that GR down the road? I have spent all day out before and had to eat which I paid for. I understand the question but in the end I think we all pay to cache.

I think we all pay to cache. Yes, I have paid to enter state parks but what about the gas to get there and to that GR down the road? I have spent all day out before and had to eat which I paid for. I understand the question but in the end I think we all pay to cache.

And don't forget that inexpensive portion of the equation, your GPS. We've spent close to $1,000.00 in learning which units work best for us. I goofed and bought a Magellan (GASP) but reformed and bought a Garmin Oregon 450. Loaned the Magellan to my sister......maybe she'll get more involved in caching. Then we decided to get a Nuvi. Then....well....let's think about what we all spend on computers. Who else bought a laptop just because they were geocaching? Okay, so I used it as an excuse to get a laptop.

And don't forget that inexpensive portion of the equation, your GPS. We've spent close to $1,000.00 in learning which units work best for us. I goofed and bought a Magellan (GASP) but reformed and bought a Garmin Oregon 450. Loaned the Magellan to my sister......maybe she'll get more involved in caching. Then we decided to get a Nuvi. Then....well....let's think about what we all spend on computers. Who else bought a laptop just because they were geocaching? Okay, so I used it as an excuse to get a laptop.

who is we kimosabi?? YOUR the one spending all the money.....I bought an etrex and I was happy...you want the toys LOL

Hey! Dont forget to submit your suggestions for the Ammo Can! It's your newsletter. Help to make it wonderful!! P.S. I apologize now for the typos and misspellings in my post.

I think we all pay to cache. Yes, I have paid to enter state parks but what about the gas to get there and to that GR down the road? I have spent all day out before and had to eat which I paid for. I understand the question but in the end I think we all pay to cache.

I think the question was would you pay for a cache if the cache was placed specifically to collect the money?